September 1 — Africa: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Fighting breaks out in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern region of Kivu between government troops and a dissident General Laurent Nkunda’s forces. Nkunda, a Congolese Tutsi, proclaims a state of war, and says he will not support a government that works with Hutus. Tens of thousands of residents from the region flee their homes in order to avoid the fighting.
September 3 — Latin America: PANAMA
Panama begins the expansion of the Panama Canal, a project designed to double the Canal’s capacity and allow it to accommodate bigger ships. The undertaking, scheduled for completion in 2014, is expected to cost $5 billion and to create 7,000 jobs. Advocates of the project say the expansion will boost trade; however, opponents argue that the project will lead to displacement and environmental damage.
September 4 — North America/Middle East: UNITED STATES/IRAQ
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan Congressional oversight body, issues a report on progress in Iraq. The report finds that only three out of 18 political and military benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress have been fully met by the Iraqi government. It says that the Iraqi government’s performance has been poor, failing to fulfill key goals of reducing sectarian violence, passing laws on oil revenue sharing, and ensuring safe streets, clean water, electricity, and other basic necessities for their citizens. In the meantime, U.S. President George W. Bush strongly defends his Iraqi policy, saying there is evidence that the Iraqi government is beginning to work.
September 6 — Middle East: ISRAEL/SYRIA
Syria’s air defense opens fire on Israeli warplanes and forces them out of the country after the planes entered Syrian airspace through the northern border and flew toward the eastern region. Israel’s military has not commented on the incident. The episode heightens the already tense relations between both countries.
September 10 — South Asia: PAKISTAN
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan, but within hours is charged with money laundering and sent back to Saudi Arabia in exile. Sharif, who was ousted in the 1999 military coup, wants to challenge Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in the upcoming presidential election.
September 11 — Middle East/North America: IRAQ/UNITED STATES
The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, delivers a report to Congress on the progress of the U.S. military surge in Iraq. According to his report, sectarian violence has declined since the start of the surge, and the 30,000 surge troops could be withdrawn by mid-2008. However, his report also states that the situation in Iraq remains difficult. According to a survey for the BBC, ABC News, and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), 70 percent of the Iraqis polled believe that the surge has failed, hindering the conditions for political reconciliation and reconstruction.
September 12 — Europe: RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin selects Viktor Zubkov, the head of Russia’s financial monitoring service, to be the country’s new prime minister. In the 1990’s, Zubkov served as Putin’s deputy on the St. Petersburg external relations committee. Some analysts expect the new prime minister to be Putin’s successor in next year’s presidential election. Others see Zubkov’s nomination as Putin maneuvering to stay in power.
September 13 — International Issues and Organizations: UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that the under-five child mortality rate worldwide has dropped below ten million for the first time. The record low rate is attributed to preventative measures, including vaccinations, anti-malaria actions such as mosquito nets, and increased rates of breast-feeding. The decline was particularly visible in Morocco, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, experts agree that more needs to be done in other regions, such as South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, to reach the millennium development goal of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality by 2015.
September 14 — North America/Europe/Asia
Ice cover in the Canadian Arctic shrinks to record lows and allows the Northwest Passage to become fully navigable, opening the most direct shipping route between Europe and Asia. The European Space Agency (ESA) reports that the shrinkage of ice has been steady and raises concerns about the speed of global warming. The opening of the new route has already caused international disputes. While Canada claims control over the passage, the European Union and the United States say the passage should be an international strait.
September 19 — Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Israel declares the Gaza Strip an “enemy entity” and says it will cut back power and fuel supplies to the region in an effort to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israel. The statement enrages Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Hamas since elections in 2006.
September 19 — East Asia: CAMBODIA
Authorities in Cambodia arrest Nuon Chea and charge him with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nuon Chea was second-in-command in the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–79) led by Pol Pot, under which one million people were killed. He will face the UN-backed special Khmer Rouge tribunal, established in 1997 to try the remaining leaders for war crimes.
September 19 — Middle East: LEBANON
Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and Member of Parliament, Antoine Ghanim, is killed by a car bomb. The assassination comes a week before the Lebanese parliament is due to elect the country’s new president. Ghanim is the eighth anti-Syrian public figure to be killed in Lebanon in the last two and a half years. His assassination is condemned by world leaders.
September 23 — Europe/East Asia: GERMANY/CHINA
German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds talks in Berlin with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader. China protests the meeting, claiming that the Dalai Lama is seeking Tibetan independence from China, and cancels planned talks with the German minister of justice.
September 25 — East Asia: JAPAN
Japan’s parliament elects Yasuo Fukuda as the country’s new prime minister. Fukuda replaces Shinzo Abe who stepped down after his party’s defeat in July’s elections. Fukuda faces the difficult task of restoring his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s reputation, which has been damaged by numerous scandals.
September 28 — East Asia: MYANMAR
Myanmar’s military government cracks down on anti-government demonstrators in the country’s main city of Rangoon, killing eight protestors and a Japanese journalist. Other sources report the casualties to be much higher. The ten-day peaceful demonstrations, which were led by Buddhist monks, were originally sparked by the government’s decision to double gas prices, but soon turned into powerful demonstrations against the authoritarian regime.